Dip Stick

[SpenB]

Hi all, i'm new to this landy thing so please be patient with me. Just got my first landy a 200tdi.

I've replaced the engine oil but when I checked the level after only about 1.5 ltrs the oil level

was about an inch above the Hi position. My mate says its the wrong Dip Stick.

When we had a closer look theres 2 home made marks further up the stick. But when we put the correct amount

of oil in the level again shows about an inch above the highest homemade mark.

What I would like to know off anyone is the length of a 200tdi Dip stick from the bottom of the cap (handle)

to the bottom of the Dip Stick so i can compare the lengths.

Also, if any of this is possible the distance from the bottom of the cap to the HI mark and the LO mark.

That way I can check my original marks and the homemade ones and buy a new one if needed.

Thanks in advance for any replys

SpenB

[yellow]

Is it an original Defender 200tdi or a replacement Disco one?

[western]

grab the tube & see if it moves up/down through the big nut at the bottom, if it does, undo the big nut take it into the garage & useing a pair of long nose pliers, open up the bottom of the tube to make the small olive fitting tighter on the tube, you should find a witness mark on the tube to show where the olive should be located, once that's done refit the tube/dipstick & check ol level as normal. mine did this & thats how I fixed it.

Defender 200Tdi dipstick should have a metal ring handle not a plastic one. if plastic you have the wrong dipstick fitted.

[Guest wunntenn]

A little-known problem with dipsticks - the tube has an olive on it and that engine vibration eventually causes the olive to creep up the tube, causing the tube to drift down the side of the engine block into the sump. What this means is that the dipstick shows the oil level as ok, but in actual fact there’s less oil in the sump than there should be because the dipstick is sitting lower in the engine. I heard of one guy who had less than 1.5 litres of oil in his engine despite the level mark indicating it was full. My own tube drifted down so far I was only refilling with 4L and it showed full. Picture enclosed showing the relative positions of the olive. Whether this is of relevance to your situation will be establishd by dismantling it.

[Guest wunntenn]

Wow western - you just beat me to it!

[western]

That's the olive, good photo for comparision.

[SpenB]

Hi all thanks for the replys,

Its a genuine Defender 200tdi.

The handle end of the dip stick is like a small metal bell that fits over the end of the tube when pushed back in.

One time the tube did come out with the dip stick (forgot that sorry ) there was no olive on the end at all, we pushed it back

in till we could see that the smooth clean part of the tube was in the hole then it would not go in any further. It never came out after that when we continued to check the oil.

Hope all that makes sense.

[western]

yep, makes sense, but the olive that fell off must be in the sump or has got flushed out on a previous oil change. I'd try & get a new dipstick tube, LR part ERC8980 or a new olive LR part 236408.

[SpenB]

Thanks guy thats brillient.

Should be going out tonight so might have to try tomorrow.

There was so much dirt around the hole when the tube came out that we didnt want to wipe it into the hole so just carefully pushed the tube back in. We couldnt see any nut at all with all the dirt so i'll clean it off and have a look.

So if the olive has come off it could be stuck down the hole in the casting then? surely it wont have gone all the way down because wont the olive need a shoulder down the hole to lock up against when the nut is turned to squash the olive? (like a plumbing joint)

If after all that if i have too much oil in will it cause damage to the engine or will the engine just natrually burn the excess off?

[western]

IIRC the olive is/should be trapped by the nut that secures the dipstick tube, hopefully the olive is still in there.

if there far to much oil it could cause problems, easiest to fix the dipstick & alter the oil level from the reading you get.

[SpenB]

Ok thanks, i'll get some new parts and start afresh.

Thanks again.

I'll let you know how i get on.

SpenB

[tonka]

just checked mine and the olive was about an inch and half off the mark. so i re fitted it and filled it up. it was bout 2-2.5 litres low. just glad i read this and havnt done too many miles.

[SpenB]

Ok lads, checked it all last night. You were right obviously. The olive was still in the bottom of the nut.

The end of the tude wont hold the olive so getting a new tube and olive today.

By the way once the olive. nut and tube are in situ whats the best way to tighten the nut up.

With the air filter and other pipes out the way do you just use an open ended spanner.

Can you actually get one in and down there.

Thanks again your advise was spot on and greatly accepted.

SpenB

[western]

move the air cleaner out of the way, set the dipstick so it's easy to lift in/out for level checks & I used a open end spanner to tighten mine up.

[SpenB]

Thanks i'll do that tonight if it ever stops raining

[Prith]

A little-known problem with dipsticks - the tube has an olive on it and that engine vibration eventually causes the olive to creep up the tube, causing the tube to drift down the side of the engine block into the sump. What this means is that the dipstick shows the oil level as ok, but in actual fact there’s less oil in the sump than there should be because the dipstick is sitting lower in the engine. I heard of one guy who had less than 1.5 litres of oil in his engine despite the level mark indicating it was full. My own tube drifted down so far I was only refilling with 4L and it showed full. Picture enclosed showing the relative positions of the olive. Whether this is of relevance to your situation will be establishd by dismantling it.

I just check it and it was like you said Ralph. Corrected it now. THanks a ton.

[stephencdavies]

i have a similar issue. i have a 200 tdi disco block, but the rest is defender ie high mount turbo. the dip stick and tube is the disco one ( plastic ). when i rebuilt the engine and refilled with exactly the right amount of oil. the level on the dip stick was about a cm over the max notch. i've been checking it and the level hasnt changed. i'm not sure what to do, if anything. ideas would be appreciated.

[western]

The LR tech bulletin for this fault is here, 

[oneandtwo]

Many years ago (at least ten) when I last had a 200tdi defender, I had this problem which I solved by boring the dipstick retaining nut out and fitting a 300tdi dipstick assembly. The 300tdi dipstick tube is sealed by an o ring rather than an olive, and is bolted to the engine block to prevent it from working its way down.

[Snagger]

Many years ago (at least ten) when I last had a 200tdi defender, I had this problem which I solved by boring the dipstick retaining nut out and fitting a 300tdi dipstick assembly. The 300tdi dipstick tube is sealed by an o ring rather than an olive, and is bolted to the engine block to prevent it from working its way down.

Same with the Discovery 200 tube and stick, if I remember correctly. The snag is that the tubes route differently to clear the differing manifolds, and the Discovery 200 tube is secured tot he induction manifold, so you'd have to make up a bracket. The top of the 300 tube bolts to the front of the block, so if that bolt hole is the same on the 200 block, then it may work, but since the sump and oil pump are very different on the 300, and the 300 doesn't have the ladder frame between block and sump, I'd be wary of using the 300 stick and tube on the 200 block.

[Paddy]

I've not had this problem nor had the dip tube out but couldn't the olive just be soldered to the tube ?

[stephencdavies]

my one just sits all on its own. its the disco one with the butterfly bracket ( for want of a better description ) the only thing thats been holding it is the nut on the bottom. i'm not sure. what i should fix it to as the top end is defender with the high mount turbo. when i do the oil change next week i might adjust the tube so the stick reads correct. no doubt it'll find its own way again. i could move the olive back to its original place and braze it. or do the right thing and find a defender tube and stick. to be honest i'm a little defendered out at the moment. ( see my post about master cylinder and you'll see what i mean )

Happy Land Rovering evryone.

[oneandtwo]

I don't know about "may work" - It worked fine for many years. It is a dipstick going down the same hole the previous one went down, bolted to same hole in engine block. I think you are thinking too much into it.

[stephencdavies]

well, sorted it. the tube had shifted as said earlier. i didnt over engineer it as i said previously. all i did was , move the olive back to its original position and nip it back up. its been on the move for years. more movement over the next few years wont hurt..

[Mo Murphy]

Could some form of locative adhesive help stop the movement of the tube in conjuction with the olive ?

Mo